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Generalizing again, the hood is only supposed to be a temporary device. In my case, it would have been used while I was transporting someone to the jail. It would have been removed at the jail. Pepper spray is used to overcome resistance in order to get someone into custody. If someone is in custody, and restrained in a chair, further use of pepper spray is uncalled for, and is a definitely not to be used if a person is wearing a spit hood. In all cases of pepper spray or tear gas, we were trained to immediately wash the eyes out out with clean water. If we were outside, we faced the person into the wind after washing the eyes out. All of us had been exposed to tear gas and pepper spray during training, so all us knew what it was felt like when we used it. And if we delivered someone to the jail who had been tear gassed or pepper sprayed, we were required to notify the jail nurse.

A person who is combative can be strapped to a chair to prevent further assaults on detention personnel, and to try to prevent the person from hurting himself. Medical or detention personnel should remove the spit hood if they leave the room and the person is unattended.

I can't emphasize the word "generalize" enough though. The underlying issue in this case is the problem of mental illness. As it is, there is no definitive law enforcement solution to a person who keeps committing crimes, other than incarceration. And if the person has a mental health problem, the closest to solving the problem with that particular individual is the get him some mental health care. And even then, there is no guarantee that at some point he will not commit additional crimes, or harm himself or others.

In the case we are posting about, law enforcement personnel had the ample opportunity to make reasonable decisions, and it appears that some of them failed miserably.